Charlemagne’s biographer Einhard tells us in his Vita
Karoli that the king ordered a compilation of Frankish heroic
poetry before he died. That the heroic world was equally important
to Anglo-Saxon England is demonstrated by Old English poetry and
other works of art, such as the famous eighth-century whalebone box
known as Franks Casket.

The term “heroic poetry” is attributed to narrative poetic texts
of different ancient, medieval and modern cultures, which celebrate
the valorous deeds, brave fights or physical tests of exceptional
figures both legendary and historic. The ultimate goal of the
poems’ heroic protagonists is to achieve lifelong glory and a
commensurate place in legend or history. …

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Citation:
Kries, Susanne. "Old English Heroic Poetry".
The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 30 April 2003
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1272, accessed 02 August 2015.]

Related Groups

1272Old English Heroic Poetry2Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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